Autumn Migration

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Truly special holiday for those who also want comfort and time to relax! Migration and rare breeding birds.Imagine graceful, high mountains, their tops bathed in sunlight, their slopes marked by a kaleidoscope of multi-coloured mineral strata; imagine sprawling, deeply carved inland valleys of lush exotic green some with rushing rivers and gently tumbling waterfalls; powerful and majestic breakers pulling on glistening beaches; balmy breezes sweeping over the stunning dunes and deserts, and at night the stars seem only an arm’s distance away; smells of spices and colours of the local markets intoxicate the senses; tribal Berbers a population whose smiles reveal their tolerance of others and pride in their land – Morocco. Peter Jones.

A wonderful opportunity to enjoy both the migrating and rare breeding birds in Morocco. This tour has been especially tailored to take in some of the rarest birds in Morocco, whilst also timed to allow our fellow travellers to view autumn migration where ‘anything’ might turn-up. We also visit one of the largest breeding colonies in the world for Eleonora’s Falcon! From the fabulous old city of Marrakech to the Atlantic coast we will journey into the Anti Atlas Mountains and also stay in the southern deserts. The scenery alone is worth joining the tour for. Our usual high standard for accommodation applies and we have carefully selected restaurants and transport. Our journey allows us to take our time and we have selected some of our hotels specifically, not only for their comfort, but also their location. At 3 of these hotels we will spend 2 consecutive nights giving time for relaxation and enjoying their superb locations, these longer stays also give opportunities for individuals to miss touring with the group and do their own thing.

Price details Tour 9 nights/10 days:

Tourdates:

14th - 23th of September 2017

Price 2013:

1.895 Euro p.p.

300 Euro Single supplement.

Deposit:

250 Euro p.p.

Includes:

All accommodation, all meals and transport, fulltime guiding, and airport transfers

Excludes:

Flights, insurance and personal costs.

Tour-party:

Minimum 4, maximum 8 fellow travellers

Options:

Extra nights in four**** Hotel in Marrakech based on HB:

70 Euros p.p. (per night)

30 Euros Single Supplement

Tour will be lead by:

Spanish Nature Tourleader: Peter Jones

Local Guide: Peter Jones

It goes without saying that all our accommodation is of the usual very high standard as all Spanish Nature tours. This tour is relaxed and recommended if comfort and easy pace is required.

All guests have regular options, either join-in with group birding/game viewing or opt-out and enjoy your own company. You, the client, have choices unlike with so many other group tours!

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To see more picture of Morocco go to Photo Gallery on the Homepage

A consice 9 nights/10 days Tour Itinerary at a glance

Day 1 - Four**** Hotel in Marrakech - Arrival day Marrakech, transfer to the hotel*

Day One When arriving at Marrakech-airport we will be waiting for you in the arrivals. After what we hope has been a trouble free collection from your flight, we head towards our hotel in the heart of Marrakech’s residential area, the "hivernage". Golden Tulip Hotel asserts itself with an Andalusian architecture, perfectly integrated into a sumptuous garden of 7000 m². The hotel is an easy walking distance from the historical "Djemâa El Fna" central square, the "Koutoubia" minaret, the beautiful garden of "Agdal", the royal "Menara" and the congress palace. After lunch we can either relax at our hotel or enjoy the city! Of course the options are yours. The souk in Marrakech is rightly famous and is a feature in the older part of the city. This market and its unique atmosphere is a must for anyone wanting a true ‘Moroccan’ experience! The hotel has a grand swimming pool and terrace, with of course a bar. Within the grounds, there are many birds such as Common Bulbul and House Bunting.

Day TwoAfter a relaxing breakfast in the tranquil grounds of the hotel we will set-off to our next destination Essaouira. The journey will take us through many different landscapes from grape producing areas to open desert and juniper woodlands. We will have time to stop on route for morning drinks and some birding. On arrival at Essaouira we will book into our hotel and take lunch at the beachside restaurant. The afternoon will be spent observing the Eleonora’s Falcon colony (675 breeding pairs recorded in 2001 which is 10% of the world population) and then visiting the Oued Ksob. The mouth of the river is a good place to find various gull and wader species, whilst the river holds good numbers of migrants. Plain Martin breed here and the chances are good for turning up rarities in the Tamarisk and junipers lining the river. Eleonora’s Falcons are often seen over the river feeding and we are hopeful of getting some close views.

We will stay in Hotel Dar Nafoura-Mogado which is located in the heart of the city, Essaouira. This guest house is very welcoming and offers a traditional Moroccan atmosphere. The hotel is only a few minutes away from the harbour and beach. Various seabirds and sometimes Eleonora’s Falcon can be viewed from the roof terrace, where on a fine morning we can take our breakfast in style. Dinner will be taken in our favourite beachside restaurant.

Climate: Pleasantly warm days and normally enjoys comfortable and balmy evenings. Provided there are no strong winds, we will be able to enjoy our meals outdoors.

Day Three We anticipate an early/ish breakfast at around 0730 to allow for time to be spent at and around Tamri lagoon and shoreline before our lunch stop at Tamrhakh. The lagoon and marshes at Tamri are a favoured area for migrants and if we are lucky we might spot Bald Ibis on the surrounding dunes. Lesser Crested, Black, White-winged, Whiskered and Sandwich Terns are also some of the Tern family to use the area on migration. On our last visit here we had spectacular views of Barbary Falcon. Warblers normally include Spectacled and it is possible to find Tristrams here. After our lunch stop we continue through the wonderfully scenic Paradise Valley and we intend to have several stops along this route searching for not only migrant, but also resident species such as Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting and hopefully Bonelli’s Eagle.

We will eventually arrive at our Hotel Des Cascades for 2 nights in the Anti Atlas Mountain village of Imouzzer. The hotel and its terraced garden is a real favourite for us and the views from the terrace are stunning. It will be our base for the next 2 nights and the only problem we encountered on previous visits was our reluctance to leave! This small, quiet, unassuming and very friendly hotel has a homelike dining room, lounges and terraces affording stunning vistas. The hotel has magnificent gardens leading to paths into the countryside. Breakfast is served on the large terrace. On a clear evening you can watch the sun setting over the Atlantic. The main dining room has a central log fireplace for the cooler months. Hotel Des Cascades is an idyllic place found clinging to the mountainside amongst a profusion of trees, shrubs and flowers of all colours with the constant sound of gurgling springs interspersed with pathways leading down to a knee in the hills.Climate: At the time of our tour the days are normally warm. The evenings can be cool so some warm clothes should be close to hand.

Day FourHere we are able to offer our travel companions options. The area is a wonderful place to wander and explore, mountain paths, woodland and incredible rock formations. If you want to take timeout from the group, then you have the option to wander around close to the village or simply relax in the hotel and its gardens. We will take journeys into the surrounding valleys and explore the mountain areas for such species as Bonelli’s Eagle, Barbary Partridge, Crossbill and Little Swift etc. We will take lunch at the hotel, so again there is the option to do half a day birding and an afternoon just relaxing in the hotel grounds etc. We will drive into the mountain area behind the hotel during the afternoon and go a hunting Tristram’s Warbler and other exotics, although this route is a bit of a mystery tour as we have not had time to previously explore this particular area, so an adventure! Our intention is to arrive back at the hotel late afternoon to enjoy the terrace and surrounding scenery, of course keeping an eye to the skies for raptors! Time in the evening to tot-up our bird list and enjoy the superb food and drinks served by our hotel.

Day FiveIt’s an up and away morning, early breakfast a requirement so we have plenty of time to reach our next destination in the desert west of Guelmim. Our journey takes us around the eastern ring road of Agadir and we hope to have time to stop near the roadside a little further south for birding the Oued Massa. We will stop for lunch in Tiznit and then head towards Guelmim, but before we will look around Bouizakarne for White-crowned Black Wheatear. The area between Bouizakarne and Guelmim is good for lark species and we have also had Fulvous Babblers here. After Guelmim we head out into the desert and take a stop near to a small river, where we can walk a little way upstream looking for waders and warblers. The last time we visited here we managed to find Wood, Green and Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover, Common Snipe and Black-winged Stilt. Marsh Harrier and Long-legged Buzzards are also found here with both Red-rumped and Desert Wheatear being common. On the approaches to our Hotel Bou Jerif, set amidst a Bedouin Camp, we found Lanner Falcon and Little Owl. The camp provides a real taste of local life and the hotel provides the comfort! We found the food excellent here and the surrounding desert a great birding areaThe hotel Bou Jerif, where we will stay again 2 nights, is some 9 kms away from the nearest road and reached by a good track. An old French Foreign Legion fort is but a short walk away and the whole complex is completely surrounded by open desert. Birds are attracted to the gardens of the complex and by water overflows, sometimes heavy falls of warblers have been observed. Electricity is supplied by generator, so beware of no power supply at least between 10pm and 7am!Climate: Warm by day, but can cool at night.

Day Six We will take a leisurely and relaxed breakfast and aim to leave the camp by around 0900. For early risers there are plenty of short walks into the surrounding desert to go looking for birds and we regularly have the African sub-specie of Magpie here. Yet again we are able to offer options for the day, although on this occasion we would recommend our day trip into the surrounding desert and visit to the beach Plage Blanche. For those who fancy walking along the track westwards there is an old and interesting Foreign Legion Fort (Bou-Jerif) and the surrounding desert makes for an ideal stroll from our base. Those who choose to stay around the camp and simply relax can take lunch in the restaurant here. We will journey westward through the desert and search for Desert and Scrub Warbler before reaching a wadi near to the estuary where we will have a short walk searching the area for migrants. We then propose to reach the beach for lunch and for the more adventurous a swim and beach walk. It is possible to do some sea watching here and we can also spend some time around the mouth of the estuary. We will get back to the camp by late afternoon to allow all our party time to relax before dinner and drinks.

Day Seven We are able to take a fairly relaxed breakfast and aim to leave the camp by latest 0900, but 0830 if the earlier hour suits the party. We leave and head for the area Sidi R’bat and here we can stop to take in the wadi and see the breeding site for a pair of Bonelli’s Eagle. We will then proceed to our next destination and hotel in the reserve of Oued Massa. The plan is to arrive at the hotel for lunch and check-in, the hotel is in a fabulous position and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and beach! Here we can relax and stroll down from the hotel gardens to the nature reserve of the Oued Massa checking on the open waters and marginal vegetation for migrants. The beach near the lagoon is well worth checking for unusual gulls among the many Lesser Black-backed and Yellow Legged Gulls. Peter is offering a free drink to the first person who sees and points out Moustached Warbler, hearing their song and call does not qualify for the drink! We will meet our local guide here and discuss our tactics for the next day. If people want to take themselves off for an evening stroll and view magnificent sunsets, then they are most welcome to do so.We will stay in Hotel Ksar Massa for 2 nights. The hotel’s own publicity gives its location as being somewhere between the ocean and the sky! The hotel is located on the Atlantic Coast in the Souss-Massa National Park with its bird sanctuary, about 30 miles south of Agadir down the state highway to Tiznit. It is surrounded by sand dunes and stands in its own grounds of some 6 hectares.Climate: Normally warm by day and can become cool in the evenings/night. Being immediately next to the Atlantic Ocean breezes/winds are common.

Day Eight Yes another relaxed breakfast, but with so many good sites close to our hotel we expect some of you to have had a good sized bird list before breakfast! Our local guide will join us for today and our targets will be Black-crowned Tchagra and of course Bald Ibis. The area north and east of our hotel is desert, so we will search this habitat as well as the wadi and marshes. It’s a fair bet we will pick-up a number of new species here as the area is a much favoured one for migrants as well as rare breeding residents. Again we will visit the reserve area and we will take lunch at our hotel. It is in such a magnificent setting we can again offer options to the group for the afternoon, for those wanting to wander off on their own or just sit around the pool sea watching at the same time, then we are happy to be able to let you make your own choices. For the rest of us, we will accompany our local guide for a walk around the reserve. We will return to the hotel by late afternoon for relaxation before dinner.

Day NineWe will leave our hotel as close to 0830 as possible, so an early breakfast will be necessary. We travel north towards Agadir and near to the royal palace we head to the mouth of estuary for the Oued Souss. The area offers some very good vantage points and a chance to find anything we may have missed at Oued Massa. From here we will make our way towards our next destination in Marrakech. The route takes us through the edges of the High Atlas and is scenically a beautiful route; we will take lunch early into our journey. With time for stopping and exploring likely areas we will travel at a leisurely pace to our hotel in Marrakech. We will stay in the same Hotel El Andalous, which we know already from our first day. Arriving by late afternoon there will be time for a drink and relax before preparing for our evening dinner. The alternative can be for those who did not do that before to visit the famous Souk and the historical "Djemâa El Fna" central square.

Day TenOur morning will involve a journey into the nearby High Atlas to the Ski resort of Oukaimeden, so an early breakfast is needed in order to depart for 0830. We are hoping to bag a few mountain species here and the primary target is Crimson-winged Finch. Chough, Rock Sparrow and Shore (Horned) Lark are others we should see, but if we really get lucky then Alpine Chough might put in an appearance. Our last visit to the area also produced Golden Eagle and Dipper. We can take a drink break at the Ski resort and have lunch on our way back to Marrakech. Because the tour leaders are staying on for an extra night, guests can store a change of clothes, luggage and have the use of bathroom facilities prior to leaving for the airport (only 15 minutes away from our hotel). And so ends our tour which we will have endeavoured to have made as memorable and enjoyable as possible.

Do you consider a friendly atmosphere, comfort and relaxation, as well as value for money, an essential part of any well earned holiday? If you do, then all our bird watching adventures have been specifically designed to suit you!

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Why not give yourself a real treat and join us at Moroccan Birds for your next nature holiday?

A brief introduction

Moroccan Birds has been created by Spanish Nature. We have created this special web site for Moroccan Birds because this destination, for birding, is still not getting the attention it deserves. Spanish Nature are doing birding tours in Morocco, both in spring and autumn, covering the desert and coastal areas. Where possible we are employing local guides, but always under the supervision of one of our senior-guides, thus guaranteeing the high quality for which Spanish Nature is known throughout the birding world.

Responsible Tourism

Working in various countries we pay particular attention to details such as using local companies, local guides and wherever possible local produce. In Morocco we are introducing an educational programme to local schools focusing on nature and we are also helping cooperatives whose aim is to improve the quality of life for marginalized women and children.